The Way We Were
by melbel1315
Summary: AU. They were everything to each other. Then they were torn apart, what happens when he comes back into her life and shakes everything up? MAJOR BL!
1. The Perfect Beginning

**The Way We Were**

**Disclaimer- **Not Mine... All Mark's.

**AN-** This idea came to me while I was watching the movie The Dive from Clausen's Pier. (Yes. I proudly watch lifetime) It's obviously a Brooke/ Lucas story. It's completely AU, so the first chapter will be more of the background story of how they got together. BTW- Jake is Brooke's big brother. Lucas and Nathan are a year apart and they are both raised by Karen and Dan, who are married. Dan is not that evil in this story, mainly because he is not the center of the story, not because I like him, trust me, I DON'T! Peyton and Haley will eventually be in this story. Lucas and Jake are a year older than Brooke, Peyton, Haley and Nathan. Also, Brooke and Jake's parents are actually around and Jenny probably won't be in this story.

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He was her first crush, her first kiss, and her first love. They had known each other their entire lives and knew every little thing about each other. Their relationship was comfortable, but they were still madly in love with it other.

It all started the summer before her eighth grade year and his freshman year. He was at her house the entire summer. It was extremely hot that summer, so they, Brooke, Peyton, Jake and Lucas, all decided to go swimming, which turned into them chicken fighting in the pool. Brooke was on top of Lucas' shoulder, with Peyton on top of Jake's. They were laughing hysterically and Brooke lost, when she fell off of Lucas' shoulder. He noticed how her face brightened up when she was happy and the two huge dimples on either side of her mouth. She was probably one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen in his life. He caught himself staring and mentally punched himself. He wasn't supposed to think of her like that. She was just Brooke. His best friend's little sister. She was beautiful. She was practically his little sister. Lucas was completely confused by his new-found attraction to the girl that he had known most of his life.

Once all of them got bored of splashing each other in the pool, Peyton suggested a game of Truth or Dare. When it came to be Brooke's turn, Peyton dared her to do the unthinkable—kiss Lucas. Brooke was, naturally, absolutely mortified. Of course, she had had a crush on Lucas since she was in about 4th grade, when she discovered that boys didn't have cooties, but she couldn't kiss Lucas. He would never think of her that way, and she certainly could not kiss him in front of her brother. How disgusting would that be? Peyton sat across from Brooke, staring her down. Since she had whispered her dare into Brooke's ear, the boys had no clue what it was. Brooke was silently pleading with Peyton to not make her do it, but Peyton wasn't going to let her back down. She knew that Brooke was practically in love with Lucas and thought that after almost 4 years, it was time that she actually do something about it.

"Fine!" Brooke said in an annoyed tone, finally breaking the silence. She stood up and put her hand out to Lucas, who looked at it, questioning her.

"Just come on, please." She said, while staring bullets back into Peyton's eyes.

Lucas slowly used the hand she offered to get up off the ground and continued to hold it as they went behind the house. Once they got there, Brooke tried to let her hand go, but he continued to hold it. She looked at their hands, and looked back up at him. He quickly let go of her hand, and looked away. Although it was dark outside, she could still see that his cheeks were bright red. He looked back at her and they both laughed.

"So, what was your dare?" He asked once their laughter died down.

"Uh… well, you see…" She was about to start rambling, but he cut her off.

"Cut to the chase, Cheery." He said mockingly. She smiled at his use of her childhood nickname.

"Well, Broody," She began; she knew that returning the nickname might make the situation a little more relaxed. "Peyton, well, she kind of dared me to uh… kiss you." She released a breath that she didn't even realize she was holding.

Lucas started to laugh, but Brooke remained still. She was a little hurt that he thought that she was that awful that they thought of them kissing, made him crack up. She was quick to come up with an alternate plan.

"But… it's not like we have to. We just have to pretend that we did." She said the last part, hoping that maybe he would change his mind and not find her so revolting.

Lucas leaned against the rough brick of the house and contemplated the choice he had to make. Brooke was absolutely gorgeous, and he did really want to kiss her, but she was Jake's little sister. His romantic side took over and he looked into her hazel eyes with a twinkle in his blue ones. Brooke knew that twinkle and knew that meant trouble.

"What?" She asked innocently, hoping the twinkle meant that he was going to kiss her.

He sighed dramatically, "Well, I guess kissing you won't be the worst thing I've ever done." He said as he saw Brooke's face contort in rage, he then quickly laughed, making her see that he was simply kidding. "Calm down, Cheery, you're old enough. Let's do it. I mean it's just a kiss, and it's not like you've never kissed a boy before." He said as his heart started to race.

"Fine, I guess." She said nonchalantly, hoping to mask her excitement.

"Okay." He said, delaying the inevitable kiss that was about to take place.

"So…" Brooke said, trying to get him to start.

"Right." He replied, raising his hands to her face, one on each side. He could see that she was about to close her eyes and decided to take a moment to look at the beauty of her face, her features looked completely at peace. He then closed his eyes and dipped his head down so that his lips could reach hers. They both remained in this position for about 10 seconds, before Brooke pulled back a little, to make sure that Lucas didn't think that she was a complete loser. She looked up at him and saw that his eyes were just now, fluttering open. He smiled one of his classic, I-know- I'm-making-you-weak-at-the-knees- smiles and Brooke instantly felt as ease. She smiled back at him and he slowly pulled her closer.

"Wanna try again?" He asked, charmingly. He was so close that she could feel the warmth of his breathe against her skin. She shook her slowly and he dipped his head down once more, pulling her face forward. Her arms rose slowly as their kiss escalated from small pecks into one long kiss. She gently laid her hands on the back of his neck. She could feel him laughing a little against her mouth and she pulled back, fearing that she was making a complete fool out of herself. She turned around and ran back towards Peyton and her brother. Lucas looked at the spot where she was just seconds before and felt terrible. He knew that she had thought that he was making fun of her, but instead, he was laughing because she was tickling the back of his neck. He ran back out from behind the house.

Peyton was sitting there looking at Brooke. Peyton smiled. She knew that they had obviously kissed, maybe even done more, since they had been behind the house for more than 10 minutes, but she knew that she had embarrassed Brooke enough tonight, and that all of her questions could wait until they were alone.

Brooke finally looked up from her hand and her gaze met her best friend's. Peyton could see the unshed tears in Brooke's eyes and instantly felt terrible. She quickly saw Lucas return from behind the house and stared at him angrily.

She looked at Jake, who was pretty oblivious to everything that was going on, and said, "Goodnight, Jake." She helped Brooke up then they walked up towards the house, Peyton paused beside Lucas for a moment, only to whisper, "Goodnight, Asshole."

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Peyton sat in the middle of Brooke's bed, with Brooke's head in her lap. She had just heard the story of Brooke's first kiss. She felt like the worst person in the world.

"God, Brooke. I'm such a bitch. I shouldn't have made you do that. I just thought that maybe if you guy kissed, then you would be happy, and I knew that you would never do it on your own, and I thought if you both thought it was just a dare, you would do it, and he would realize, maybe, that he had feelings for you too." She looked down as Brooke apologetically.

Brooke slowly sat up and faced Peyton. She didn't say anything; she simply hugged her with all her might. When she finally let go, Peyton looked at her as if she were crazy. "Brooke, I kind of screwed you over, you can be mad, you can call me a bitch, kick me out of your house, something."

Brooke looked back at Peyton and smiled through her tears. She touched her knee and looked back her, tears flooding back into her hazel eyes. "Peyt, don't be sorry. I mean, yeah, I'm pretty pissed that Luke was that rude about the kiss, but, OH MY GOSH! It was such a good kiss. Well, both of them were, the second one ended badly." Brooke was beaming like an idiot; her smile then fell, when she asked, "What do you think is wrong with me? I mean, obviously, Lucas thought of something that was, because that's why he stopped it."

"BROOKE PENELOPE DAVIS!" Peyton yelled. "There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with you. There's obviously something wrong with him. Now, go brush your teeth and let's go to bed." Brooke nodded and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

When she got in there, she was very angry to see she wasn't alone. Another bad thing about sharing a bathroom with her brother—seeing boys that just laughed at her after she kissed them. She was about to leave, when she felt an arm pull her back. She looked at him with a frown on her face. She watched him close the door that led back into Jake's room. She turned around and did the same to the door that led into her room.

"So…" He started.

She sighed dramatically, "Lucas, just say it," she started speaking in a deeper voice, trying to mock him, "'Brooke, I think the kiss was a mistake. I must have been on some kind of crazy drugs when I decided that it was ok to kiss you. You're like my little sister, how disgusting is that?'" She looked up at him, waiting for him to say something along those lines.

He fixated his navy blue eyes into her hazel ones. He slowly moved towards her. He said in a quiet voice that was laced with hurt, "That's what you thought?"

Brooke looked at him confused and angry, "Lucas, we were kissing, and you laughed at me. What the hell else was I supposed to think?"

Lucas started to laugh. "You thought I was laughing at you?" He asked. Brooke nodded at him. He started to laugh even more. Brooke was beyond confused at this point. "You want to know why I was laughing?" She nodded once more. "I was laughing, because, you, my dear, were tickling my neck." Brooke understood, and began laughing hysterically.

"So, you don't think that I'm completely revolting?" She asked shyly. He shock his head with a smile and moved closer to her so that his arms were encircling her waist. She teased him by raising her hands to the back or his neck, tickling him. She held him close and tucked her head into the crook of his neck, breathing in his smell. She could feel him moving away and groaned.

"So, maybe we could try that whole kissing thing again?" He asked with a small smile playing on his lips. She nodded and immediately tilted her head up towards his. It started out small and sweet, but his tongue came against her lips. She broke apart from him with a questioning look. He looked down at her apologetically and backed away, but he felt small hands wrap around his waist and pull him back. Now he was really confused.

"Sorry, it's just, uh…" Brooke started to blush. "I'm kind of new at this and I… I don't really know how to do that…" He laughed a little. "Stop making fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you, I'm laughing at myself." She looked up at him, her hazel eyes were filled with complete and utter confusion. "You see, I thought that you had done this before. I feel really bad now… God, Brooke I'm so sorry. I mean I wouldn't have…" He was cut off by her lips pushing hungrily against his. He felt her tongue move towards his parted lips. 'Damn, she learns fast,' Lucas thought to himself as they continued to make out in the middle of her bathroom.

Brooke was the first to pull back. She looked up at him with a seductive smile. "So, how'd I do?" He looked at her then moved his head towards hers and kissed her again.

Finally, five minutes more of snogging, Lucas stopped them. "Your brother's gonna kick my ass." Brooke leaned away from him and her face fell.

"Right. The brother factor." Brooke yawned and leaned back into Lucas.

Lucas kissed her forehead and whispered "We'll talk in the morning." She turned towards the door, but was pulled back towards him. He gave her a peck on the lips, moved a strand of hair out of eyes and rubbed her cheek with the pad of his finger. Brooke went back into her room and went to bed with a huge smile on her face.

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Brooke and Peyton woke up around ten the next morning and went downstairs to find Brooke's mom was cooking breakfast, while the boys were sitting in front of the television, playing a videogame. The girls went and sat on the couch with them. The boys quit their game and turned the TV back to some cartoons. Brooke scooted a little closer to Lucas and discreetly held his hand. Lucas looked up at her and smiled.

Brooke broke the silence in the room by saying, "I think I'm gonna go see if mom needs some help in the kitchen." She looked at Lucas and nodded her head, asking him to come with her. Lucas waited about 3 minutes then announced that he was going to the bathroom, he then headed up the stairs to meet Brooke.

He slipped into her bedroom quietly and closed the door. He felt two arms wrap around his waist almost immediately. He turned around, wrapped her in his arms and kissed her on the forehead. They remained like that for a couple of minutes. Both of them knew that they were in too deep to just stop whatever it was that they had. As Lucas started to pull away, Brooke buried her head further into his chest. He stayed there for a couple more minutes before he led her over to the foot of her bed. She pulled back and her eyes met his. He saw the unshed tears in her eyes and knew that he could never leave her. Jake would get over it; he had to be with her, no matter what.

From that moment on, they were always together. Lucas was her rock; he was who she went to when she needed someone to talk to or when she needed comfort and support. Brooke was his outlet, she was who he went to when something was wrong and she would comfort and support him in her own way, by making him forget about all of his troubles completely. They spent the first few weeks of their relationship, hiding out, but eventually, they had to tell everyone. Most people were so happy for them, except his best friend and her brother. It definitely took good, old, protective Jake a little while to accept them. For the first week that he knew, he barely spoke to either one of them, but after Brooke yelled at him and threatened to castrate him if he didn't make up with his best friend and stop treating her like shit; he made a small effort to understand the relationship, eventually, he was fully okay with the fact that they were together. He saw the way that Lucas looked at his baby sister and how caring, doting and loving he was, and instantly knew that they were meant to be together.

They were perfect. For a little while.


	2. Nothing's Gold Forever

**The Way We Were**

**Disclaimer- **Again, not mine.

**AN- **This is still in the early stages, so please pardon if it's not perfect. This chapter is set in the present time, which is Christmas time of Brooke's senior year and Lucas' freshman year of college. You should be able to figure out their situation by this chapter. Everything is pretty self-explanatory. If you have any questions or comments just say it in a review PLEASE! Also—Flashbacks are in italics.

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Brooke sat in her room, looking at all the presents that she had to wrap. She loved the shopping part of Christmas… not so much the wrapping part. For a little while, her mind had been off the one subject that had been consuming her thoughts for the last 4 months—Lucas. She thought about what he was doing, was he thinking about her, was he dating other girls? That's all she had been thinking about since the last time she saw him. She remembered that day like it was yesterday.

_It was the morning that Lucas was leaving for college. He was outside of his house, everyone that he loved was there, his mother, father, brother, best friend, best friend's girlfriend, everyone, but the love of his life and his girlfriend, Brooke. Wait, no, she wasn't his girlfriend anymore. As of last night, they were no longer together, not because they didn't love each, but because Lucas was an ass and had led her to believe that he was going to be attending UNC, which was less than an hour away from Tree Hill. He had found out in the middle of the summer than he had been accepted to his reach school, Stanford, which meant no basketball and no Brooke. Tears entered his eyes as he thought about the look on her face when he told her that he was moving to California. She had quickly stormed out, and he feared, out of his life. Before their fight, she had promised that she was going to be there to send him off, but Lucas sadly assumed that she was not going to show up. It was about 6:50a.m. Lucas wanted to leave by 7 because he was trying to make it to Stanford in just 2 days. Lucas watched as his last minutes in Tree Hill, with his loved ones passed quickly. He looked at his watch again, it was 6:57, 'Three minutes,' he thought to himself, 'If she isn't here in three minutes, then I'm just going to leave, no good-byes, that will teach her to be so stubborn.' 6:58, two more minutes and he would be in the car, gone for 4 months. 6:59, Lucas looked up at his brother and best friend, for a manly hug, he then hugged Peyton, his best friend's girlfriend, who was lucky, because Jake was only going to UNC. _

_Lucas heard tires screech behind him and looked back. He saw the powder blue bug fly into his driveway and Brooke get out, dressed in one of her patented black Juicy sweat suits, her hair in a messy ponytail. She walked slowly towards the group, greeting everyone with a tired smile. She then looked at Lucas and tears flooded her eyes. She didn't know how to tell him goodbye. 'Do I hug him? Kiss Him? Give him a handshake?' She asked herself. She was so overcome with emotions that she just jumped into his arms and started to bawl hysterically. Once her cries died down, she felt Lucas' chest move quickly up and down, jolting her head up and down. She backed away a little to look at his face, he was crying like a baby. She gave him a small smile and returned to his arms, both crying their hearts out. _

_After remaining like this for about 5 more minutes, Karen intervened, reminding Lucas that he had a long trip ahead of him. He nodded and wiped his tears, now feeling silly for breaking down, but then realized that it had been over Brooke, his Brooke, his Brooke that he wasn't going to see for 4 months, and it all seemed okay. He hugged everyone one last time, and then returned to Brooke, who was trying to keep her tears in check. He scooped her up in his arms and heard say, "I'll love you forever, Broody." He smiled at the mention of his childhood name. _

"_I'll love you forever, too, Cheery." He then backed away from her, gave her a small, sweet kiss on the lips and got into his Tahoe, backed out of the driveway of his childhood home and headed off to college. Once he was out of sight, Brooke broke down completely, falling to ground. Her body was shaking with sobs. Peyton, Karen and Jake all bent down to comfort her, but she pushed them all away. They all understood that she didn't want anyone but Lucas. After sitting there with her head in her hands for five minutes, Jake picked her up and put her in his car, letting Peyton drive Brooke's car back to her house._

Brooke was brought back to reality by the ringing of her cell phone, but was too late to answer. She got up off the ground and went into the bathroom, finding that just thinking about Lucas had made her cry hysterically. She washed her face and went back into her room. She picked up her cell phone and saw that she had a new voicemail, from Lucas.

"Hey Cheery," Lucas paused for a moment, before continuing, Brooke could tell that he was nervous, "Uh… well, I just got back into town and wanted to meet up. Maybe we could meet at our spot on the beach around 4ish? So, just call me back when you get this. I lo…uh… Bye." Brooke sighed when she heard the last part.

When Lucas first left, they had talked on the phone most days. They had unspoken rules about these phone times. They were always to be upbeat and happy. You were only to talk about new friends of the same sex that you had met. The only friends that were of a different sex that you talked about, had to be friends from home. Lastly, you always had to keep your emotions in check. The first conversation that they had was the only one that had broken these rules, well the first and last ones at least. They had both started crying almost immediately and had said how much they loved and missed each other about a million times. Since, then, the rules had been in place.

As the first semester progressed, they both got busier and busier, and the phone calls were more and more spaced out and lasted shorted each time. Lucas hadn't come home for Thanksgiving, instead, Nathan, Karen and Dan had gone out to visit him. It was the first Thanksgiving that Brooke could remember without the Scott family. She was glad though, that Lucas had called on that day and talked for an extra long time. He understood the emotions that she was going through, even when she said nothing.

Brooke began to dial the familiar number and waited for a moment to push the "TALK" button. Once she did, she heard Lucas' voice after two rings.

"Cheery?" Lucas said happily, after he saw Brooke's name appear on his cell phone screen.

He heard a sniffle, and then heard Brooke speak, "Hey Luke!" Brooke said in her fake-cheery voice. "You wanted to meet?" She asked after a small pause in the conversation.

"Oh… yeah. At 4? Our place?" He asked, praying that she would say yes.

"Yea," Brooke said in a down voice, she then caught herself and continued, "Absolutely, I'll see you then. Bye Broody."

"Bye Cheery." Then they both hung up. Each of them had a genuine smile on their face by the end of the conversation.

Brooke looked at the clock and discovered that it was 3:25 and that she had a very little time to get freshened up.

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Lucas slowly got out of his black Tahoe and looked around for Brooke's small bug; it was no where in sight. 'Yep. Same old Brooke, always fashionably late.' He thought to himself with a smile. He headed down the walkway that led to the beach and walked through the thick sand to a secluded part of the beach that had been dubbed "Their Place". It was the place that they had their first date, it was where Lucas had first told her that he loved her, and it was where they had their last date, the night he told her he was going to Stanford. He sat down and ran his hands over the sand. He had gotten lost in his own thoughts because he was completely surprised when a pair of arms wrapped around his neck. He quickly got up so that she wouldn't have to bend down. He looked at her for a moment. She was perfect, a little thinner than the last time he had seen her, but she was beaming. He closed the space between them by hugging her with all his might and proceeding to pick her up and twirl her around. She held onto his neck tightly and giggled as he did.

He slowly put her down and they settled into the sand, without saying a word. He sat behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. She immediately entwined their fingers as he did then and leaned back into his chest. They sat like this for a moment, before Brooke finally spoke. She nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck and whispered, "You have no idea how much I missed this."

"You and me both, Cheery… You and me both," Lucas whispered back.

Brooke turned around in his arms to get a good look at him. He looked different. His hair was buzzed and he had lots of stubble on his face. Something else was different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She put her hands on both of his cheeks and rubbed the stubble playfully. He leaned into her touch and kissed both of her palms, before looking back at her, his blue eyes shining with happiness. They sat there staring at each other for moments before Lucas spoke.

"Can I do something?" He asked shyly, as he slowly pulled her towards him. She nodded slowly, confused as to what he wanted to do, but realized what it was as Lucas' hands rose and began to stroke her cheeks, she closed her eyes and braced herself for what his kiss would feel like. They both felt the electricity, right when Lucas' lips landed on hers. The kiss was slow and loving, yet it had its own hidden passion to it. When they both pulled back, they rested their foreheads against each other. He moved only to kiss the tip of her nose playfully. She giggled at this action. He then said the three words that Brooke had been wishing to hear for 4 months, "I love you."

She sighed slightly and whispered back, "I love you too." She saw his face brightened at her words and giggled once more. She loved how much he looked like a little boy when he got what he wanted, like a little boy that had just convinced his mother to get him a big bowl of ice cream.

"Good," He began after a moment, "Then maybe you can help me with something."

"Of course," She replied.

"Okay," He started slowly, "Well, I've been thinking a lot this year, about us and I realized that being without you was complete hell. So, maybe it would be better if I quit Stanford, took next semester off and started at UNC, with you."

Brooke was shocked and a slight bit angry as well. She slowly started to scoot away from Lucas.

Lucas was equally as shocked by her actions. "Brooke, what is it?"

She sighed, trying to hold everything in and explain herself in a nice manner. "Luke, you can't do that."

He chuckled a little, thinking that she was kidding, "What do you mean I can't do that? I'm already doing it."

"Why?" She asked quietly.

"Why? For us, so that we can be together, like we wanted to be before." He replied, trying to keep a nice tone, as to not upset her further.

"You know that's not true." She whispered and looked up at him, her eyes shone with unshed tears, and she sniffled to keep them from falling.

"How can you say that?" He asked in a quiet, but angry whisper.

"Because that's the truth Lucas. You know it is. Your mom and Nate both told me that Stanford wasn't what you thought it was going to be." She sighed and tried to get back into a nicer voice, "Just admit it, you failed, and now, you're trying to blame it on me, but I won't let you do that, not to me and certainly not to yourself."

This time, it was Lucas' turn to scoot away from her. "How can you say that?"

Brooke realized that although she was telling the truth, she probably shouldn't have voiced it like she did. She tried to reach out for his hand, but he brushed her off. "Lucas, Lucas, please, just look at me." She sighed, silently cursing herself.

He sat with his held towards the ground. "God, Brooke."

She interrupted this as him reaching out for comfort. She started to move towards him and wrap her arms around him. Once she did, he became completely rigid under her touch. She then realized that he was angry, but decided to embrace him anyway. She brought him close to her, hoping that he might melt under her touch. She saw there, holding him and kissing his cheek, head and neck, trying to get him to crack. Brooke knew that she had hit a hard spot. He had never been able to handle his own failure well, mostly because it had happened so few times in his life. The only time before had been with basketball. He knew that he wasn't Nathan; he didn't have the natural talent and passion for the game like he did. That was one reason that he picked Stanford over UNC, there was no pressure to play basketball. Now he was failing with school and Brooke.

Once Brooke had been hugging and kissing him for close to ten minutes, he started to crack, or so she thought. He looked up at her and he saw the tears in his eyes. Tears that she knew he would only shed in front of her. She looked at him and threw herself into his arms, knocking them both over. This little bit of comic relief seemed to put them both at ease. They continued to lie down on the soft sand and Lucas wrapped her in his arms and dropped a kiss on her forehead. He mumbled, "I'm sorry, baby," and they stayed like that for about half an hour.

Once they both decided that it was time to leave, Lucas helped Brooke get up and she looked up at him with a smile.

"I'm really glad that you're going to stay there. I think that in the end, you won't regret it."

Lucas looked at her weirdly. "Who said that I was staying at Stanford?"

"Well… I just thought that we had worked this out and that meant that you were staying."

"No. I'm not staying there," He started to raise his voice as he realized what was happening. "I get it. You want to fix me, don't you? Well you can't. I'm staying here, even if it doesn't have to do with you, and now it seems that it had absolutely nothing to do with you, since we aren't even dating!" He screamed and instantly regretted it as he looked at Brooke's face, which was filled with sadness and tears.

Brooke sniffled the sadness away and it was instantly replaced with anger. "You're right, we aren't dating! Thank god for that. That means that now I don't have to deal with your bullshit. So, I'm leaving Lucas, have a fucking great life!"

Brooke began to walk away and Lucas tried to apologize. "Brooke, I didn't mean it." She continued to walk away and Lucas tried to follow. She started to run and go back to the parking lot, with Lucas on her trail.

Lucas finally caught up to her as she was trying to get her keys out of her purse. She looked at him with her tear-streaked face. "Yes. You did. Don't try lying to me Lucas, I know you too well." She said quietly. She opened her car door and once she was half-way in she said, "Good-bye Lucas." She got in the car and left Lucas to stand in the parking lot by himself.

He sat down on the sideway and put his head in his hands. He had royally screwed up now. He felt something wet against the back of his neck and looked towards the sky, it quickly getting darker as it started to pour. Lucas contemplated staying in the rain, but decided against it. He needed to get go get Brooke back.

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Brooke had driven like a mad woman back to her house and quickly got out and ran into the house, not bothering to say 'hello' to Jake or Peyton. She slammed the door to her room and lay on her bed and cried. She heard a knock at her door, but didn't dare answer. She fell asleep in her wet clothes on top of her bed. In the middle of the night, she heard her door open and woke up. She saw her brother enter her room, holding the phone. She could tell that he was shaken up. She looked at him questioningly and saw tears in his eyes.

"What is it Jake?"

"It… It's Luke." He said as his voice cracked. "Brookie," he said carefully, using his nickname for her, "He's been in an accident."

Brooke looked at him in horror and instantly fell into his arms. The two siblings cried and hugged each other for the rest of the night.

Brooke's world was not so perfect anymore.

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_Hope yall liked it. I'll try to write more tomorrow, but if I don't get to it, I won't update until Aug. 13, because I am going out of town, but I am pretty into this story, so I will try to crank out at least one new chapter. If you have any questions or suggestions, PLEASE REVIEW! If you don't PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW anyway!_

_Xoxo. _


	3. Wanting What You Can't Have

**The Way We Were**

**Disclaimer- Not mine.**

**AN- **Thanks for much to darcy101, almondbar, haydenisheaven2000 Brucas4ever and ( ) for the reviews! Please keep them coming. Well, I hope ya'll like this chapter! Again, flashbacks and dreams are in italics.

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_Lucas quietly entered the room and sat down on the bed, looking at the girl that lay on it. She was on her stomach, her hair was hanging down her back and on the sides of her head and she was snoring slightly. He smiled. He always used to love watching her sleep, but he knew that he had to wake her from her slumber. He rubbed her back lightly, knowing that it would wake her up. She groaned and flipped over to look at him. She had a frown on her face when she saw who woke her. Lucas' face fell. He knew that it wouldn't be very easy to get her forgiveness, but he was going to try. She looked at him as to question his reason for being in her room. As she sat up some more, Lucas moved down to the ground and got on his knees. He grabbed her hands in his and tugged them towards him. He was shocked when she didn't try to move them away. _

"_Brooke, God, I'm so sorry." As he continued to speak, his voice started to crack. She nodded her head for him to continue. "I was extremely dumb to yell at you and lie to you about the reason that I wanted to come back, but it wasn't all a lie. Yes, school wasn't all that I thought it was going to be, but also, I missed you like hell and I just need to come home and be with you. Please, please forgive me. I mean I understand if you…" Lucas' speech was cut off by Brooke's lips crashing into his. He knew that he was forgiven and smiled against her lips. _

_She pulled back and looked at him. "I love you, Lucas."_

"_I love you, too, Brooke." _

_And then he was gone._

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"LUCAS!" Brooke screamed as she awoke from her dream. She looked next to her and saw a body, thinking that it was his. She tried to shake him awake and when she did, she found that it was just her brother. She immediately started to cry.

"Hey, hey, hey, Brooke, calm down," Jake said as her rubbed her back.

He saw Brooke reach for the phone and pulled it out of her hand. His action was rewarded with a slap on the back of the head. "What the hell are you trying to do, Jake?"

"No, Brooke, the question is what the hell are you trying to do?" He asked, fearing the answer.

"I'm trying to call Lucas, I need to apologize for what a bitch I was this afternoon."

Jake's heart broke as he saw the twinkle of hope in her hazel eyes. He sighed. "Brookie…"

"Jake, what is it?" She asked fearful of what he was talking about.

"It's… It's Luke." Brooke's face fell. "Brooke, he was in an accident, remember?"

Brooke started to bawl, and Jake tried to wrap a comforting arm around her, but she just pushed him away. He tried again, this time a little more forcefully, and she instantly fell towards him, sobs shaking her body.

Once her tears subsided a little, she asked, "Is he gone?"

Jake shook his head, no.

"Oh, thank god." Brooke started to cry some more, but this time they were tears of relief.

"Brookie, there's something that you need to know though." Brooke nodded, signaling for him to continue. "Lucas, he's… he's paralyzed from the waist down and in a coma."

Brooke's tears of sorrow came back as she melted back into her brother's comforting arms.

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Brooke woke up the next day to the sun shining through her window. She groaned, wishing that she could sleep through the next couple of months. She felt someone rubbing her back and turned around to see Jake, Peyton and her mother. They were all giving her sympathetic smiles, which she returned.

She slowly got up out of bed and headed towards her bathroom. She closed the door and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like crap. She had mascara stains under her eyes, her skin was red and blotchy from all the crying, and her eyes were lifeless and bloodshot. She instantly remembered Lucas, and that he was lying in a hospital room, comatose, paralyzed and thinking that she hated him. She fell to the ground crying. Obviously, her sobs had been loud, because she felt two pairs of arms encircle her body. She looked up and saw Jake and Peyton and gave them a tearful smile. They stayed with her until her tears started to subside.

After she let it all out, she got up, washed her face and got ready to face the day. She put on very little make-up, a little cover-up, some mascara and some lip-gloss, and she was done. She went out to her bedroom, only to find Peyton sitting on her bed. Brooke walked over to her closet and got out her favorite pair of comfy jeans, a T-shirt, and her most comfortable sweater and changed. She looked at herself in the mirror and tried to smile, but instead, she ended up crying. Peyton was at her side immediately.

Brooke looked up at Peyton. "God. How can I face him?" She tried to continue talking, but she was sobbing so hard that she just stopped for a moment, to regain her composure. "He… he thinks that… that I hate him. What if he … dies thinking that?"

Peyton hugged Brooke tightly before answering. "Brookie, you know that he doesn't think that. He could never think that. He knows that you love him, just go see him today. It'll make you feel better." Brooke nodded and got off the floor. She grabbed her purse and her car keys and left.

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Brooke parked her car in the hospital parking lot and slowly got out and started the walk towards the hospital. Once she got to the huge double doors, she paused for a moment, bracing herself for what was to come. She was about to go up to front desk and find out what room Lucas was in when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and was face to face with Nathan. She saw that his eyes were glossy with unshed tears and instantly flung herself into his comforting arms. She felt his tears as he hid his face into the crook of her neck. She felt a lump in her throat and tried her hardest to be strong for Nathan, but slowly she came unraveled, and the tears in her eyes started to fall.

They finally let go of each other a little and Nathan led her towards the elevator up to Lucas' room. Finally, the elevator landed on the 5th floor. Nathan kept an arm wrapped around Brooke's shoulder as they got off the elevator. She looked over at the waiting room and saw Karen asleep on Dan's shoulder. Dan smiled slightly in Brooke's direction, and then turned his attention back to his sleeping wife. He dropped a kiss on her forehead and she woke up, looking up at him, then at Brooke. She quickly got up and threw her arms around Brooke.

Brooke couldn't help but break down. Karen was like a second mother to her. She could hear Karen whispering words of encouragement in her ear and smiled, backing away from the woman, as to signal that she was going to be alright. Karen nodded her head towards a closed door across the hall and simply said, "Go."

Brooke nodded her head and smiled. She took slow, delicate steps towards the door. She quietly opened it and stepped into the room. She gasped as she saw Lucas in the bed. Two metals bars were holding his neck up. He had cuts and bruises all over his face and body. She could hear a ventilator in the background, helping him breath. She rushed to his side and lightly kissed his forehead. She ran her hand along his jaw line. For some odd reason, it had always been her favorite part about his face. Well, that and his piercing blue eyes, but at this moment, they weren't an option. She played with some of his new-found facial hair and smiled.

"You know, you can talk to him if you want." A voice behind her said.

Brooke turned around and was face to face with a woman that she assumed was Lucas' nurse. She nodded gratefully and said, "Yeah, I know. I just don't know what to say that will make any of this better."

The nurse walked closer to Brooke. "Well, sweetie, nothing you say will make this all too much better, but you talking to him might let him know what you're thinking and it might make you feel better." Brooke nodded and the nurse left.

Brooke took one of Lucas' hands in one of hers and with the other she stroked his face. She sighed before she started to talk to him. "Lucas," Just saying his name made her voice crack. "Please, just wake up. Lucas, I know I was mad when we last talked, but you know I didn't mean it." She paused for a moment. "I love you, but you know that. God, Luke, please, just wake up. I don't want you to go back to Stanford. I just want you to stay here with me, forever." Brooke started to bawl and started to kiss Lucas' palms repeatedly. "Luke, just open your eyes. Please, Lucas. I love you, please, just open your eyes."

Brooke laid her head down against one of Lucas' hands. She didn't even realize that she had fallen asleep until she heard the door open behind her. She jumped at the sound and saw Karen enter the room. Her mouth was wide open and there were tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Brooke was completely confused.

"Karen, what is it?"

"Oh my…"

Karen was interrupted by a third party. "Me, Brooke." Brooke turned around to look at Lucas and was instantly beaming as she saw that Lucas was awake. She ran towards him and hugged him. She looked back towards Karen and felt bad that she hadn't let her see her son first.

"Oh my gosh, Karen, I'm so sorry. I'm just gonna go. You can call me back in when you guys are done."

"No." Brooke turned around, with a perplexed look on her face.

"What?" She asked confused.

"No, you aren't leaving. I'm not going to let you out of my sight ever again." Lucas added with a charming smile, which earned a laugh from Brooke. She decided to remain in his room, but to give mother and son some space. She sat down on a couch near the window and pulled out a book that she had put in her bag earlier that day.

Brooke looked up when she heard the door close, signaling Karen's departure. She returned to Lucas' side instantly. She grabbed his hand and smiled. He laughed at her enthusiasm. She opened her mouth to speak, but Lucas raised his hand to stop her.

"I know, Brooke." He said, smiling at the confused look that graced her face.

She decided to play along with the game. "What exactly do you know Mr. Scott?" She asked, faking an English accent.

Lucas laughed, knowing that this was how their relationship was meant to be, drama-free, comfortable, and mostly, just perfect. "That you're in love with me." He was quick to reply.

She smiled, knowing that he was right. She leaned down to kiss his forehead, which was returned with a frown. "What?" She asked completely innocently. He looked up into her eyes. They were fearful of what he was going to say next.

"What aren't you telling me?" He asked in a small voice.

Brooke looked at Lucas in shock. "What are you talking about?"

He sighed. "Brooke, I know that kiss. It wasn't a real kiss, it was a pity kiss. If you don't want to be here, just leave."

Brooke felt tears enter her eyes. He was pushing her away, but he did have a point. She was hiding something from him. She knew that she couldn't be the one to tell him that he was paralyzed, as if he didn't already have a little clue, he probably couldn't feel his legs, but maybe he just wasn't paying attention. As she contemplated what to say next, she saw tears spring to Lucas' eyes and saw him turn his head away from her.

"No." She said.

"No? No to what?" He asked without even looking at her.

"I'm not leaving you. You can't push me away, Luke. I won't let you." Her voice cracked as she started to let all of her emotions out. He finally looked at her; it broke his heart to see how much she was hurting. He sat there, staring back at her, waiting for her to continue and she did. "I'm going to be here, and there's absolutely nothing that you can do to stop that." She tried to stare him down, but was interrupted by the door flying open. A doctor that looked like he was about 30 years old walked in. He smiled at Brooke and Lucas, obviously not sensing the tension in the room.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Carter. Can I speak to Lucas for a moment alone?" Brooke nodded and left the room. She waited outside for about 10 minutes before Dr. Carter came back out with a frown on his face, but nodded for her to go back inside.

She found Lucas laying on his bed staring into space. As she moved closer, she saw the tears. She ran and hugged him, only to feel him go rigid under her touch. She moved back so that he could look her in the eye. He looked away. Brooke sat down in the chair next to his bed. She held his hand, but he immediately pushed her hand away.

"Lucas, what is it?" She asked with concern.

He paused for a moment, to regain his composure, and then continued. "You… you knew and you didn't say anything. You didn't warn me or anything. That's what the pity was for."

Brooke closed her eyes, trying to hide the tears that were falling. "Lucas, I barely knew. Jake told me last night when I was half-asleep, last night, everything was so screwed up that I barely remembered. Plus, I didn't want you to hear it from me. I couldn't answer any of your questions, I would be useless."

She opened her eyes and he was looking at her with anger in his eyes. "Just leave." He said in a quiet, but angry voice.

Brooke's tears fell again. "Please, Luke, don't do this. I love you."

His face contorted in anger as she spoke. "JUST LEAVE! Brooke, GOD! Don't you get it? I don't need you. I don't love you. I just want you to get the hell away from me."

That was all Brooke needed to hear. She ran out of the room and out of the hospital. Lucas said it. He said that he didn't love her anymore. He'd never done that before. No matter how angry he got, she had always known that he was in love with her, but now, he wasn't.

Lucas stared at the door that had just slammed, thinking that Brooke might reappear in the doorway. He knew she wouldn't, but he silently prayed that he would. He'd just lied and hurt the only woman that he had ever really loved. The truth was, he needed, wanted, and loved Brooke more than he knew, but he was so angry about his paralysis and the fact that she kept it from him. Also, in the back of his head, he thought that he was doing this for her. This way, she could find a guy that would be able to give her everything that he wanted in her life, not one that would only bring trouble.

That night, both Brooke and Lucas cried themselves to sleep, wanting only each other.

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_Sorry that these chapters always end kind of depressingly, but I like the drama and it's all part of the plan for the story, so I'm sorry if you hate it, but I hope yall didn't. This is my last chapter until Aug. 13, because I'm going on vacation, so I'm sorry… I hope yall don't lose interest in the story! _

_PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!_

_XOXOX_


	4. So Many Regrets

**The Way We Were**

**Disclaimer- Don't own it.**

**AN- **Sorry for all the delay, I've been pretty busy, but I hope that yall like this chapter.

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The next morning, Lucas woke up, feeling terrible, emotionally and physically. He was slowly getting used to the fact that he was not going to be able to feel his legs. As his eyes opened, he realized that he was not alone in his room. He looked across from his bed and saw Nathan and his mom sitting in chairs beside the couch, looking down at Brooke, who was laying down, possibly sleeping, Lucas wasn't sure.

Once Karen caught sight of her son's eyes, she walked over to his side. She smiled and kissed his forehead. "Good morning, Lucas." She said in a cheerful voice.

"Oh yeah, it's a great morning. I'm paralyzed and can't get out of this fucking bed for the next 2 months, it's wonderful, Mom." Lucas replied sarcastically.

A flash of pain went through Karen's eyes, but she looked back down at her oldest son and simply smiled. She kissed his cheek and said, "It's gonna be okay, sweetie."

Lucas saw the pain that he was putting his mother through; he smiled and squeezed the hand that she had on the side of his bed.

Karen sat back in her seat and Lucas saw Brooke slowly get up from her place on the couch. Brooke was definitely the last person that Lucas wanted to see at that moment. The day before, he had been terrible to her, but that truth was, all he really needed to be happy, was her.

She slowly walked towards his bed and sat in the chair next to it. She smiled, but he looked away, and her face turned into a frown. She tapped her fingers against the sheets of Lucas' bed. "Right..." she said after they sat in silence for about five minutes.

He finally looked back at her and sighed. "Look, I understand that you wanna play the whole 'doting' girlfriend part, but you don't have to. I'm letting you off the hook." He said quickly, not looking her in the eye.

Tears started to well up in Brooke's hazel eyes. Then she did something that surprised Karen, Nathan and Lucas. She threw her arms around Lucas and started to bawl. Lucas couldn't help but hold her as she cried. He hated to see her like this. He always used to hold her when she cried and this time was no different.

He realized what he was doing an instantly pushed Brooke away. She looked up at him with a tear-streaked face and asked, "What.. what are you doing?"

"No," Lucas screamed. "What the hell are you doing? Oh, wait, I don't give a shit, because you're not my girlfriend, you're not even my friend. Actually, I wish that I would die in this hellhole that I never have to see you again, because I hate you."

By this time, Brooke was sobbing. Lucas hated her. She couldn't believe that he had actually said that. He'd never told her that, even as a joke. She sat there, staring straight into his icy, blue eyes and realized how bitter he was. She swallowed her tears, got up, and then turned around. "You know, Lucas, I used to think that you were different from the other 99.9 of the dicks in this world, but I was wrong. You're just as bad as they are. I'm trying to help you, even though it's hard for me, but no, you have to push me away. Well, that's just fucking fine, you sit here and rot in that shitty bed for all I care, because I don't. I never want to see you or talk to you again. You are dead to me. I wish that I had never met you, known you or fallen in love with you."

With that, Brooke walked through the door and slammed it on her way out.

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Later that night, Brooke sat in front of her mirror. She looked like shit. Her face was blotchy and red. Her eyes were bloodshot and had mascara stains all around them. She didn't know what to do with herself. For the past four years, Lucas had been the constant in her life. They rarely fought, but when they did, they would usually make up about five minutes afterwards.

She decided what she needed was a wild night out, so she called Peyton and asked her to come over and go out with her for a girl's night. Peyton agreed and arrived at Brooke's house about twenty minutes later, just as Brooke was getting out of the shower. When she did, she found Peyton sitting on her bed.

Peyton looked her up and down and laughed. "Now, that's a mighty fine outfit to go

clubbing in, Ms. Davis."

Brooke laughed. "Well, there's only one outfit better," Brooke said as she was about to pull her towel off. Peyton covered her eyes and they both giggled. Brooke loved that no matter what was going on, they could always forget about all the crap that was going on in the world when they were together.

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About an hour and a half later, Brooke and Peyton got out of Peyton's car and they headed into the club, called the Marquee. Once they got in, Peyton went to go get them drinks, while Brooke went to go get them a table.

Peyton came back with an Apple Martini for Brooke and a Diet Coke for herself, because she was playing designated driver.

Once they had their drinks, they were out on the dance floor. At first, they were dancing with each other, but then two guys came up and started to dance with each of them. As the alcohol started to go to Brooke's head, she slowly started to get closer and closer to the guy.

Brooke flipped her hair around to tease him. She started to grind against him and wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. His hands slowly started to slip as they got more into the rhythm of the music, and landed on her butt, she surprised herself as she barely flinched when he did this. Once the song finished, Peyton went back to their table alone, but Brooke came back with her new "friend".

"Hey, I'm Mike." He said as he sat down next to Brooke.

"Brooke, it's nice to meet you." Brooke smiled seductively.

Mike was hot. He had medium cut brown hair and green eyes. He was about 6'2 and well- built, and with an amazing smile. He definitely wasn't Lucas, but she'd take him.

After they talked for about half an hour, they back out on the dance floor. They were both totally in sync with each other. They finally moved right up against each other and Brooke started to tease him by playing with his belt. He pulled her closer to him, kissing her neck and whispered in her ear, "Wanna come back to my place?" She looked up at him, as to contemplate whether or not to go. She could tell that he was a little nervous, and giggled, then nodded yes.

She ran over to Peyton and told her what was going on. Peyton was a little wary at first, but then she recognized Mike from school. She thought that at least, if he went to Tree Hill, he might not be that bad. So she said that she would cover for Brooke.

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Brooke and Mike pulled up to a huge stucco house with a black door. Brooke always knew how to pick the rich ones. Mike got out then and came around to open Brooke's door.

"I'm assuming your parents aren't home?" Brooke asked as they entered the house.

Mike laughed. "Nope, they're out of the country for a month."

"Not bad." Brooke replied.

They went into the den and sat down on the couch. "Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"Movie sounds good for now."

"Cool," Mike said as he went to grab one.

When Mike came back to sit on the couch, he and Brooke cuddled a little bit. She leaned towards him and said in a husky voice, "We can do 'or something' later."

He smiled and turned to look at her. He held her face in his hands and dipped down to catch her lips. Her tongue traced his lips and he parted his lips for access. Their kisses were full of lust, something that Brooke had never experienced before with Lucas. Mike pulled her onto his lap and she straddled him. Mike pulled back for a second to look at Brooke and asked, "Are you sure you want to?"

Brooke nodded and Mike lifted her up and took her to his bedroom. Brooke spent the rest of the night experiencing the lust that she had never had before.

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Brooke woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and an arm wrapped around her waist and a head on her back. She heard snoring and turned around to look at Lucas. She was shocked when she found that the snoring boy was not Lucas, but Mike. Last night's events came back to her. She felt awful. The love of her life was lying in a hospital bed, paralyzed and here she was in bed with some random guy that she screwed all night. She wanted to leave, but she couldn't seem to get out from under him. As she tried to lift his arm off her waist, he woke up and smiled at her.

She gave him a pity-smile. "Morning."

"Good morning, gorgeous." He replied and kissed her neck. 'Shit.' Brooke thought. 'How do I let him down easy?' She asked herself.

"What time is it, Mike?" She asked.

"About 9."

"Oh shit." Brooke jumped up in a fake panic and wrapped the sheet around her as she tried to retrieve her clothes.

"What is it?" Mike asked with concern.

"I'm supposed to meet my parents for brunch at 10, and I have to go home, take a shower and get dressed in less than an hour. I'm really sorry."

"Do you need a ride home?" He asked, trying to be as helpful as possible.

"Uh... no. I can walk from here. You don't even need to get up. I'll let myself out. Last night was fun." She leaned down and kissed him quickly, then left.

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It turned out that Mike only lived two streets away from Brooke, so the walk home was pretty easy, besides the fact that she was seriously hung-over. She snuck quietly into the house and made it up the stairs unnoticed. The problem came when she got to her room. She found her brother sitting on her bed, waiting for her, and he didn't look happy.

"Jake!" Brooke said, surprised to find him there. She laughed, trying to make the situation a little less tense, it didn't work.

"So, Brooke, how was Peyton's?" Jake asked in a suspicious tone.

"It was great. You know, nail painting, boy talk, all that good girly stuff." She said with a smile.

Jake laughed and then stopped abruptly. "Nice, Brooke, want to lie to me some more?"

Brooke's smile faded. She knew that she was in some deep-shit.

"How'd you find out?" She asked.

"Brooke, how the hell do you think that I found out? You were out with my girlfriend. Do you honestly think that she wouldn't tell me?" He asked in an angry voice.

"I don't know, but I thought that she was MY best friend and she would keep my little secret, but of course not, she has to tell 'Big Bad Jake'."

"Yeah, she had to tell me, Brooke. You went off with some random guy that you met at a bar, you think that's safe?"

"You know what, Jake? For once, I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to have a good time."

"So, now a good time includes getting pregnant and an STD? That's good, Brooke, slut it up." He said in a mean tone.

"Jake, we were safe, if that's what you're wondering."

"No, that's not what I'm wondering, Brooke. What I'm wondering is what the hell were you thinking? Lucas is in a hospital bed, paralyzed, and you're out screwing random manwhore's brains out."

"Look, Jake, Lucas made it clear that he didn't want to see me, ever again. So, I'm respecting his wishes."

"Brooke, you know that's not true. He loves you, you know that."

Brooke's hazel eyes stung with tears. "Yeah, I thought that I knew that, until he kicked me out of his hospital room yesterday and told me that he hated me. You're right, he's really in love with me, Jake." Brooke started to break down and Jake ran to her, feeling bad for all the things he had just said. Brooke was hurting more than anyone knew.

Jake tried to wrap his arms around his baby sister, but she smacked them off of her. "Stay the hell away from me, Jake."

"Brookie, come on, don't do this. I'm sorry."

"No, you're not, you just feel bad, but you think that I'm a slut. That's great, Jake. Get the hell outta my room!" She screamed and sobbed at the same time.

Jake nodded, leaving her room and closing the door behind him.

He had never seen Brooke like that. Whatever Lucas said must have messed her up pretty badly. He regretted yelling at her like that, but was still pretty angry at what did to Lucas.

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Lucas sat in his bed, rethinking the last conversation that he had with Brooke. He knew that he had hurt her alot, but he meant to. He didn't want her to want him. He couldn't handle being with her, it hurt him, because he was never going to be enough for her. The way that he figured, he was doing her a favor by pushing her away and letting her have the freedom to date and not feel pinned down by him, he still regretted what he did.

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Brooke sat in her room crying. She thought about the last two days and what had happened. She felt terrible for all of the things that she had said to Lucas and that she had left him at all. Mostly, she felt terrible for sleeping with Mike. At the time,when she was drunk, it seemed like a good idea, but when she was sober, she realized that she barely even liked Mike, because he wasn't Lucas. She regretted everything that she had done in the past two days and didn't know how to make it all better.

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_Hey Yall! I know, you guys might not love the direction that I'm going for the story, but i need some drama if I want to keep it going. If you have an questions or ideas, PLEASE REVIEWt. It helps so much! Thanks!_

_PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!_

_xoxox_


	5. Hold You In My Arms

**The Way We Were**

**AN- **Lots of you asked for Fluff, honestly not sure if it's gonna happen yet, you'll just have to read on…

**Disclaimer- **Don't own it.

**P.S. -** Song lyrics, Flashbacks and dreams are in italics.

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Lucas' eyes slowly opened. He looked to his right and all he could see through his blurred vision was brown hair. As his vision adapted to the morning, he saw that the brown hair was not silky and long like Brooke's, but short and matted. He reached his hand out and tap the person's head and saw Jake's brown eyes look up at him, smiling slightly.

Lucas cleared his throat, and then whispered, "Hey."

"Hey." Jake paused a moment, then continued, "Sorry, that I haven't been by too much lately, it's just, uh… I've been dealing with my overly- emotional little sist…"

"Don't say it. If you came to talk to me about her, you can save your breath."

"Sorry, man, I didn't, but just know, she's hurting. That's all I'm going to say."

Lucas nodded, understanding that Jake was first and foremost Brooke's brother. He wished that he was strong enough to ask how she was doing. He missed her more than he could admit, but he knew that if he enough heard her name, he would break down.

"So, how have you been, Jake?" Lucas asked, trying to push Brooke out of his mind and their conversation.

Jake laughed. 'Yep, same old Luke,' he thought to himself. He was always putting other people first, even when he couldn't use his legs. Little did Jake know, that today was the first day that Luke hadn't woken up, wanting to die.

"Uh… As well as can be expected, I guess. How are you? I mean I should be the one worrying about you." Jake said.

Lucas laughed at his best friend's concern. "Absolutely great. I love the hot nurses that bring me the amazing hospital food and help me out when I piss myself, without even knowing it. What more can a guy ask for?" He asked sarcastically.

Jake looked Lucas in eye, showing him that he was serious. Lucas looked away, unable to handle Jake's stare. "The truth?" Jake whispered.

Lucas sighed, and then laughed in spite of himself. "The truth is, I'm hurting Jake. Not just physically, because physically, I'm basically numb. Emotionally is a different story, I wish I was numb." He paused for a moment and looked up at Jake, letting him see the tears that were welling up in his eyes, and then he continued. "I wish everyone would stop throwing me a pity party. I wish that I wouldn't have pushed Brooke away, because God knows, that I need her more than ever right now, but I don't want to hold her back for the rest of her life. I know that she'll hate me more than she already does if I do."

"She doesn't hate you." Jake replied.

Lucas looked up at him, silently begging for him to continue.

"She hates herself, definitely not hating you right now, though. She's in love with you and she's not throwing you a pity party, she's throwing herself one. I know that you don't want to hear this right now, but I'm gonna tell you, she needs you right now, just as much as you need her, even if you're too stubborn to admit it. Dude, you're my best friend, but she's my sister, and I have to defend her a little. If you gave her a chance, she'd never leave you, and not just because she feels obligated to you, but because she's been in love with you since she was like 10. So, I think that you should call her and tell her to come down and beg for her forgiveness, otherwise, both of you are gonna keep hating yourselves and eventually start hating each other and everyone else around you."

Lucas let Jake's words soak in, and then replied with a nod. Jake got out of his chair and gave Lucas a manly hug, then said, "Just don't wait too long."

Once Lucas was alone again, he broke down completely, realizing what an asshole he had been to Brooke.

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_You say hello, inside I'm screaming I love you  
You say goodnight, in my mind  
I'm sleeping next to you  
You drive away from my car crash of a heart  
And I don't know_

But you gave me the best mix tape I have  
And even all the bad songs ain't so bad  
I just wish there was so much more than that  
About me and you

Brooke sat in her bedroom, crying and listening to the same song over and over again. It had always reminded her of Lucas. It was on the first CD that he had ever burned for her. She remembered that day like it was yesterday.

_Lucas and Brooke had been secretly dating for about 2 weeks. Luke was at her house, hanging out with Jake, when he excused himself to the bathroom. He snuck upstairs to Brooke's bedroom, which had become somewhat of a routine for him, and rapped lightly on the door. _

_She yelled, "Come in." and smiled when she saw who walked into her room. She jumped off her bed, ran towards him and said, "Finally!" as she threw her arms around his neck. She looked behind him, noticing that one of his arms was holding something behind his back. "What's that?" She asked, hoping it was for her. _

_Lucas laughed at her eagerness. "Calm down, Cheery." He led her over and sat down with her on her bed. He took out the poorly wrapped gift and set it in front of her. _

_Her eyes got wide with excitement, and she asked, "For me?" _

_He nodded and watched her open it. "It's a CD. Aw… Luke, you made me a mix? That's so cute. Let's listen to it." _

"_I wish I could, but I'll bet that your brother is waiting for me downstairs, and it's kinda embarrassing, so how about you listen, and tell me what you think." He got up off her bed, dropping a kiss on her forehead, and then made his way towards her door. _

"_Hey Luke?" Brooke asked as she stood up. She ran towards him and kissed him with as much passion as she could at the young age of 13. As she broke the kiss, she whispered, "Thanks." He nodded, kissing her lips lightly. _

"_Bye, beautiful." He said as he opened the door and went back downstairs. _

_Brooke walked back to her bed in a daze. She thought, no she KNEW that she was in love with Lucas, and not just the 13 year-old, first boyfriend kind of love, but the real kind. She opened the CD case and saw a note fall out. She got the CD out and put it in her stereo, then sat back down on her bed and opened the note. It read---_

_**Cheery- These are just some songs that make me think of you more than I already do on a regular basis. Hope you like them. You're amazing. I love you- Luke**_

_Just as Brooke read the last sentence of the note, the first song came on-_

_You say hello, inside I'm screaming I love you  
You say goodnight, in my mind  
I'm sleeping next to you  
You drive away from my car crash of a heart  
And I don't know_

But you gave me the best mix tape I have  
And even all the bad songs ain't so bad  
I just wish there was so much more than that  
About me and you

You talk to him, and it burns me like the sun  
You talk to her, and you say that you feel like he's the one  
I talk to me, but you can't hear the pain I feel  
You don't know

Cause you gave me the best mix tape I have  
And even all the bad songs ain't so bad  
I only wish there was more than that  
About me and you

Oh, don't turn around and say bye again  
Yeah it crushes my head when you call me  
Your friend and I'm not the same person  
From back in the day in the back of the class  
That you thought was gay  
No I can't find the words cause I lost them  
The minute they fell out of my mouth  
And it's love and I'm in it, so give me your lips  
And just let me kiss 'em  
And let's get messed up and listen to possibly...

The best mix tape I have  
And even all the bad songs ain't so bad  
I just wish there was more than that  
About me and you

_By the end of it, she knew that she would never forget any of the words, or that moment, for the rest of her life. Lucas loved her, and maybe to him it was just 13 year-old, first boyfriend kind of love, but at that moment, that was fine with her. _

_Later that night, when Lucas took a "Brooke Break", she couldn't stop gushing about how much she loved the CD, the first song in particular. _

"_I'm glad." He replied, as he scooped her up in his arms and just held her near him. He wanted so badly to tell her how he felt, but he didn't want to rush things. _

_At the same time, in a body less than a centimeter away, Brooke was having the same exact thoughts, but she too decided that it was too soon to express her love to Lucas. _

_He pulled away to look at her for a moment. He stared in awe of her beauty. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, she was wearing a white v-neck T-shirt and sweatpants, but to him, she was absolutely gorgeous. She stared back at him in confusion. "Lucas, what? Do I have something on my face or something?" She asked, feeling self-conscious about his staring. _

_He laughed at how oblivious she was to her true beauty. "Definitely not, you're beautiful." She smiled at his compliment, then gave him a peck on the lips and wrapped her arms around his waist once more. All her life, people had told Brooke that she was beautiful, but she had never believed it, or felt complimented, until Lucas told her. _

_She groaned as she felt him pulling away. "I know, I'm sorry, but I gotta go back in there. Night, gorgeous." He took her face in his hands and kissed her slowly, then rested his forehead against hers. She smiled. _

"_Goodnight, handsome." He kissed her on the forehead, and then went back to Jake's room. That night, they both fell asleep, imagining the other's arms wrapped around them. _

Brooke was pulled back to reality when she heard her phone ring. She picked it up, not recognizing the number, but answering it anyway.

"Hello?" She said as she answered the phone. She sniffled to stop her tears. "Hello?" she said again after a moment of getting no response. She finally heard a sniffle on the other line. "Look, I know someone's there, so stop wasting my time and say something." She said angrily into the phone.

She heard the sniffle once more and sighed, frustrated with whoever was on the phone. She finally heard a voice clear and began to speak. "Brooke, I need you."

"I'll be right there." She hung up the phone, grabbed her purse and headed out the door, without even looking into the mirror.

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Brooke quickly parked her car and ran to the main entrance of the hospital. She finally got outside of Lucas' room, when she stopped. She had to keep her emotions in check, so that she could be there for him. She finally opened the door slowly and saw him look at her as she walked into his room. She paused to look at him, almost asking for permission to come any closer. He nodded his head and waved her towards him with his hand. She took slow, delicate steps, until she reached the chair to the right of his bed. She took her seat, and then let out a sigh, relieved that he hadn't yelled at her for being there.

She felt him tug at her hand and met his eyes. She entwined her fingers with his and smiled, while he returned the gesture. He let go of her hand, causing Brooke's smile to falter. He was adjusting himself in his bed, to make room for her. He patted the space next to him and she got out of the chair and moved towards the bed. She sat on the side of the bed and took his hand again. She kissed his hand as she felt tears start to sting her eyes. "Lay with me?" He asked quietly, breaking the ice further. She nodded and lay next to him, still holding his hand. Her head lay next to his on the pillow, but there was no real contact between the two of them, besides their hands. "Cheery, I'm not gonna break if you lean on me." He whispered, in a joking tone. She nodded her head with a smile and leaned on his shoulder, then wrapped one arm carefully around his stomach, stroking it slowly. Her smile faltered once more, as tears entered her eyes again.

She continued to stroke his stomach, and then lowered her arm to his waist. She looked up at him, he saw the questioning look in her eyes and nodded, urging her to go on, silently telling her that he wouldn't get angry. She looked down, where her hand was stroking his waist, and asked quietly, "Can… can you feel that?" She tried to stifle her tears as she looked up into his eyes. He was shocked at her question, but he looked down into her eyes and saw that she was genuinely concerned. He shook his head, no. She broke down and moved closer to him, holding him tightly, without hurting him. "I'm sorry, baby." She said in between sobs. He nodded and pulled her closer, kissing her forehead. "I love you so much, Lucas."

"I love you too, Brooke." He whispered into her ear.

"Always and forever?" Brooke said as a question and a statement, with a smile.

"Always and forever." Lucas replied and kissed her temple.

Brooke took her head out of the crook of his neck and he looked at her, scared that she was going to leave; instead, she put her hands on either side of his face and pressed her lips up against his. He reacted by pulling her closer to him, for easier access. She licked his lips and they parted. Her tongue massaged his and he moaned in pleasure. She giggled against his mouth, and he laughed back. He took a moment to look at her and he got lost in her deep hazel eyes.

"I love you." He said, and then gave her a peck on the mouth.

"I love you, too, Luke and I'm gonna be here no matter what. You know that right?" She asked. He nodded, kissing her once more on the lips. She then settled her head on his shoulder and buried it back into his neck, breathing in his scent, and then she whispered, "I missed this so much." He nodded, telling her that he missed it too.

That night, Brooke and Lucas fell asleep in each other's arms, both of them knowing that that was the way that it was supposed to be.

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_The fluff was there. I hope y'all liked that chapter, it was fun and easy to write, but don't worry, there will be more drama… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW and give me you thoughts and ideas! _

_Xoxoxox_


	6. Sometimes Love Isn't Enough

**The Way We Were**

**AN- **I'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to update. School has been so hectic. Please forgive.

**Disclaimer- Don't Own it.**

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Brooke woke up the next morning, feeling complete for the first time in so long. She looked next to her and found Lucas staring down at her. She smiled and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.

"How long have you been awake?" Brooke asked him as she settled back onto his shoulder.

"About an hour." He replied as he ran a hand through her hair.

"Luke, why didn't you wake me?" Brooke asked.

"You looked so peaceful. I couldn't wake you from that, especially after all that I have put you through in these past couple of days. I owe you a huge apology, Brooke. I was such an ass and I said so many things that I didn't mean, and…" Lucas was cut off by Brooke kissing him on the mouth.

"So, I'm guessing that means you forgive me?" Lucas asked with a smile as Brooke removed her lips from his.

She giggled, "I'll think about it." She replied.

"You better." He said as he leaned down and kissed her neck tenderly.

"You win." She said, as his lips moved towards her lips. "But, I gotta go."

Lucas groaned. "Why? We just got back on track." He pouted as she sat up on the bed.

She stuck her tongue out at him jokingly and he caught her lips in his. As she pulled back, he gave her puppy dogs eyes, asking her to stay with him. She laughed at his lame attempt. "Cute, Luke, but it's not gonna work. I'll be back in like 3 hours. Okay?"

"I have to wait 3 whole hours?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, babe, but I promised my mom that I would go out to lunch with her and Jake, then we have a little bit of Christmas shopping to do. If you're good, I might bring back some good food."

Luke laughed. "Alright… If you really really have to."

Brooke leaned down to kiss his lips again, and then ran a hand over his blonde, shaved head. "I love you, Broody." She kissed the tip of his nose as she said this.

"I love you too, Cheery." He waved to her and she exited through the door, blowing him a kiss as she left.

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Brooke was on her way to meet her mom and Jake for lunch at one of their favorite Italian restaurants. As she entered, she saw Jake waving her over. Things were kind of tense between the two of them, since he had talked to Peyton about her and Mike. "Hey, Jake." She said as he stood up to hug her.

"Hey." He replied as they sat down and the waiter came over to ask them for their drink orders.

"Where's Mom? I thought she said that she was going to meet us here." Brooke asked kind of confused about how Jake was acting towards her.

"She had some charity meeting, but I was thinking that maybe we could talk." Jake said, trying to break the ice on their awkward conversation.

"Right. So, now you're going to lecture me about the way I'm "leading my life"? Right Jake?" She asked, angry at what he was trying to do.

"Brooke, where were you last night? I mean, did you honestly think that we wouldn't notice you were gone?" His voice was laced with concern and hint of suspicion.

Brooke scoffed, angry that he was questioning her like this. "Jake, I'm not a little kid anymore, and it's really not any of your business where I was, but if you must know, I was visiting Lucas, we made up and I fell asleep there."

"Really?" Jake asked, not completely believing what he was hearing.

"Yes," yelling slightly, "Really, Jake. You can call Luke and ask."

"Oh. Did you tell him?" He inquired further.

"Tell him what?" Brooke asked not completely understanding what Jake was talking about.

"About that guy and you hooking up, maybe?" Jake was exasperated by this point.

For the past two days, Brooke had been blocking out that experience, and being with Lucas the night before had made her forget about it completely. As Jake asked her, the memories of that night flooded back into her head. Tears sprung to her eyes and Jake could see that he had gone too far with his comment. She was about to unravel and Jake felt responsible. "Brooke, why don't I get the check and we can go to the beach or something and talk?" She nodded in response, unable to speak without tears leaving her eyes.

Jake nodded to the waiter for the check for their drinks and paid. They left Brooke's car in the parking lot and took his to the beach. Brooke was silent the entire way over and Jake was really worried about her. He hadn't meant to upset her this much; he just wanted to make sure that she wasn't hooking up with random guys to forget about Lucas.

They got out of the car and walked down to the beach. Jake was shocked that Brooke hadn't broken down yet. They sat down on the soft sand and Jake looked towards his baby sister and saw that she had unraveled. Tears were running down her face and her body was shaking with sobs. Jake wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him to calm her down, once she was calmer; he tried to talk to her.

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked, Brooke sighed," I promise I won't be a dick this time." She laughed and nodded her head.

"What do you wanna know?" She asked.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

She laughed, bitterly. "Well, my boyfriend of four years was in an accident and paralyzed, and then when I tried to help him, he pushed me away, telling me that that he hated me and never ever wanted to see me again. So, I went out with my best friend and got drunk, and met a cute guy, that made me forget all the shit in my life and the next morning I woke up next to him naked. Then I made up an excuse and left." She finished up quickly.

"Wow… This story might just top my list of things I never needed to know." He said jokingly.

Brooke laughed, "Well you asked for it."

"That I did," Jake replied, liking their joking banter. He moved into a more serious mood. "So, I'm assuming that you didn't tell Lucas?"

Brooke frowned, and then shook her head, no. "We were so happy, and I honestly just blocked it out, and now, I don't know if I can do that to him. God, Jake, what am I gonna do?"

Jake looked at her closely. Her long reddish brown hair was swept back into a ponytail. Her hazel eyes still had unshed tears in them. Her face was blotchy and red from her earlier crying. Even though all of these things were true, she was still his pretty little sister. To him, she would always be a little girl. He remembered when she was six, and she was deathly afraid of thunderstorms. She would run into his room and climb into bed with him. He could always make her problems go away, and now he couldn't. He didn't know what to do to help her and it hurt him. He replied to her question honestly, "I don't know, Brookie, but you gotta know that Lucas loves you and I know that you love him. So, if you do decide to tell him, I think you two could get through it."

"Really?" She asked timidly.

"Yeah, you guys have such a strong relationship, you always have, and, as much as I hate to say this, you two weren't together when this happened."

"You're right." Brooke said as she got up and dusted some sand off of her jeans.

"Where are you off to?" Jake asked, surprised that she had taken his words to heart.

"To tell someone the truth." She said she walked away.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Brooke got out of the elevator and paced a little bit in front of Lucas' door. After about five minutes, it flew open, out walked Nathan. "Hey Brooke. What's wrong with you? I thought Luke said you guys made up."

"We did, everything's fine. The nurse just said someone was in Luke's room, so I decided to wait outside." She said she waved to Luke, who had seen her from inside of his room. "Well, Nate, I'm gonna go see him. See you later." She said as she hugged Nathan and walked inside.

"Hey Beautiful." Lucas said she walked into his room and sat next to him on his bed. She leaned down and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Hey. I missed you." She said as she smiled down at him.

Lucas laughed. "Me too. I've been going crazy without you."

She sighed and took his hand, gently rubbing her thumb against his palm. "Luke, there's something I need to tell you…" She started as she looked down at their entwined hands. "This is gonna hurt you and I hate that." Brooke started to break down crying and Lucas tried to scoop her up in his arms, but he could not reach up enough.

"Brooke, whatever it is, we will get through it." Lucas said with concern, love, and a bit of terror in his voice.

"Okay…" She started, trying to keep her emotions in check. "The other night, after you and I fought and you said that you hated me, I went out with Peyton and got drunk."

Lucas laughed, thinking that was all of her story. "Brooke, that's nothing. I mean I'm not saying—Go be an alcoholic, but I don't really care."

Brooke sighed, "Luke, I'm not done, but before I tell you, you have to know that I love you so much, and that your words did hurt me and I was pretty drunk off my ass." He nodded for her to continue. "Okay, well Peyton and I were dancing with some guys and apparently, I was drunker than I thought because I went off with one of them and all I remember if waking up in the morning, thinking that I had fallen asleep next to you, but instead, waking up to some random guy. I got out of there as fast as I could." Brooke breathed for the first time since she had gotten into Lucas' hospital room.

Luke was shocked to say the least. He didn't know whether to be angry or hurt or both. All he could ask was, "Did you sleep with him?"

Brooke's hazel eyes met Lucas' cold blue ones as she replied, "I don't know. When I woke up, I was half-way clothed. The guy woke up as I did, but I just said that I needed to get outta there and I grabbed my purse, shirt and jeans and I was off. Lucas, you have to believe me, I love you so much." She went to grab his hands, but he moved them away.

"Please don't do this, Luke, please don't. You have to believe me; I am sorrier than you will ever know."

"Why did you tell me this?" He whispered.

"We've never kept secrets from each other, and last night I honestly was so happy that I completely blanked out on telling you, and Peyton told Jake, and I knew that if he accidentally slipped up, you would be way more hurt by him telling you than me."

"They both knew?" He asked surprised.

She sighed, "Yes, Peyton was apparently there when I left with this guy, and she told Jake. He freaked out on me after he heard, and today we went out to lunch and we talked it over and I decided that I needed to tell you, because our relationship has always been based on honesty. I mean, remember when you went to that party, when I was a freshman, and some random drunk girl threw herself at you and you guys made out? You told me about that, and we got through it."

"Brooke, we were 15, and we made out, we didn't sleep together, there is a huge difference." He said, as he remembered the whole ordeal in his head.

"I know, Luke, I know, but I need you." Brooke started to break down in sobs. "Please, you have to forgive me. I love you, please, Luke. I know I screwed up, but I need you."

"I thought I loved you too, Brooke, but now, I'm not so sure. The Brooke Davis that I was in love with didn't do stupid drunken things like this."

"You can't be serious, Lucas. We weren't ever dating, you had just told me that you hated me and wanted to never see me again. That was like the third time that you had lashed out on me. What was I supposed to do? Beg for you forgiveness, and get more of your attitude? Look, we don't even know if I actually slept with this guy, and since I don't ever remember it, I could have been so drunk that he might have taken advantage of that. I'm so sorry, Luke, and I do love you so much."

"I don't care if we weren't dating, Brooke. You've never done anything that stupid before."

"Yeah, well, the Lucas Scott that I knew could actually walk, so obviously we've both changed a little." As the words slipped out of her mouth, Brooke instantly regretted them. "Luke, I didn't mean that."

"Get out. Now. Brooke, just leave." He said as he struggled to turn over in his bed.

"Please, Luke, I love you."

"Damnit, Brooke. No matter how many times you say it, it won't be true. Those are just words. Just get the hell outta here!" He yelled, for the first time that night.

There was a long pause. Brooke gathered her things and got up, she walked towards Lucas and kissed the back of his neck and whispered, "I'm so sorry." She could feel his body go rigid as her lips touched the tender skin below his ear. As she walked through the door, she said, "I love you."

Once the door was closed, Lucas whispered, "I love you too, Brooke, but sometimes love isn't enough."

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_Hope yall liked it! It took a long time to write… it's hard to get back into these things! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! _

_Xoxox-_


	7. Killing Me Softly

**The Way We Were**

**AN- **I've been going through a bit of writer's block. Please forgive if this blows. Thanks guys.

**Disclaimer- **Don't own a thing (except season 1 and 2 on DVD and the soundtrack).

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Brooke woke up the next morning, feeling like shit. She had barely slept, the whole night her head was filled with nightmares of Lucas hating her. She went into the bathroom and saw what she looked like; it almost brought her to tears. Her usually silky reddish brown hair was frizzy and oily. Her skin was blotchy and irritated from all of the crying and her eyes were bloodshot and empty. She knew that it wasn't healthy for a guy to put her through this, but this wasn't just "some guy". It was Lucas, her Lucas, the first boy she ever wanted to kiss, the first boy she ever kissed, the first boy she ever loved, the boy she lost her virginity to, and the only boy that could break her heart. She knew that it was her own fault. She didn't have to tell him, but she had a conscious and she knew that carrying that secret around would kill her.

She heard her phone ringing in her room and ran to get it, silently praying that it was him. She answered and discovered it was Peyton. "Hey P. Sawyer." Brooke tried to muster up some cheeriness, but failed miserably.

"Hey, B. Davis. So, look, Jake told me what happened. Do you need me to come over or anything?"

Brooke laughed. She liked knowing that she had a best friend that would drop everything to be with her in her time of need. "Well, if you don't have anything else to do, I could probably handle some retail therapy. Plus, I still need a couple more Christmas presents."

"Sounds good. I'll meet you in an hour or so?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, sounds good. Thanks Goldilocks. Love you."

Peyton laughed at the nickname that Brooke has picked out for her years ago. "Bye Brookie. Love you too."

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Lucas woke up feeling about the same as Brooke. He looked and saw Jake sitting beside him. His heart was not exactly warmed to see his best friend.

"What the hell do you want?" Lucas asked in a bitter tone.

"Lucas, she's a mess."

"You know what Jake? For once, I don't give a shit. She slept with another guy, while I was sitting here in this hellhole. I knew it was only a matter of time before this whole situation got to her." He said, not looking Jake in the eye.

"Lucas, listen…" Jake began.

"No, Jake, you listen. I don't care what she has to say. I don't care what you have to say. You knew about this. You knew how happy I was that we were together and you let me believe that she was completely in love with me. I hate you both for doing this to me."

"Luke, you don't mean that. I know that you are angry, but I also know that no matter what, you will always love her."

"No, I don't. I loved her, before she was this sluttish little bitch. Now, I don't care if I ever see her again, and the things that she said to me, Jesus Christ." He sighed. "I just hate her so much…" He whispered as a tear fell from his eye.

"Luke, look, we've been best friends since we were like 3, and I was one of the biggest skeptics about you and Brooke, but then I saw you two together. It was pretty damn perfect. I know that Brooke screwed up, trust me; she's killing herself over this. You have no idea how much she loves you, and I know that somewhere inside of you, you still love her too. Right now, emotionally and physically, you're a lesser version of you; can't you try to accept a lesser Brooke, since she is accepting a lesser Lucas?" Jake stared at Lucas, trying to see what was going on with Lucas. His face was going through a ton of emotions all at once.

"I just need to be alone right now. I guess, I'll talk to you later." He turned his face away from Jake.

"Alright, man. I'll see you later." Lucas nodded in response, but did not turn to look.

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Brooke got home from shopping with Peyton. She felt a little better, but she couldn't get Lucas off of her mind. While they were shopping, all of the things she saw reminded her of him. She had even bought him the platinum Rolex that he had been wanting for a long time. She decided to take a chance and call him. She reached for the phone and slowly dialed the number to his hospital room.

"Hello?" A sleepy Lucas answered the phone. Brooke smiled, as she imagined him sitting in his hospital bed with a drowsy look on his face. She sniffled and he said, "Hello? Who is this?"

"Hi, Lucas." Brooke replied in a small voice.

"Brooke." Lucas said in a harsh voice. "What do you want?"

"I needed to hear you voice." She began as tears fell down her face. "I need you, Lucas. Please let me come by so that we can talk."

Lucas paused and sighed for a moment. Finally he replied with an answer. "Brooke…" He began in a softer voice. Then, an image of Brooke and some random guy making love popped into his head. "No. You can't do this to me. I don't give a shit about you. I hate you Brooke. I hope you die, because I never want to see you again, and if you come near my hospital room, I will have you thrown out. Got it? Good. Goodbye Brooke, I hope to never see you again." With that, Lucas slammed the phone down and left a heartbroken Brooke shocked.

She dropped the phone and walked like a zombie into the bathroom. She felt like her life was no longer worth living. She looked in her medicine cabinet and took out all the pills that she could find and emptied them all out on her bathroom counter. She put half of them in her mouth and swallowed them dry, and then took the other half and swallowed them as well. She then found a pad and paper in her room and wrote, "I'm sorry. I loved you all." Then she lay down in her bed for what she thought would be the last time. 'Looks like Lucas is gonna get his wish.' She thought to herself before she fell asleep.

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Peyton walked into Brooke's room and opened the blinds, hoping the sunlight would help her wake up. "BROOKIE! GET UP!" she said as she jumped onto Brooke's bed. Brooke didn't move. Peyton tried to shake her away. "BROOKE" Peyton yelled once again. She looked down and found a piece of paper sitting by Brooke. "I'm sorry. I love you all." She read out loud. "Oh my God." Peyton screamed as she realized what had happened. "JAKE! JAKE! CALL 911!" She yelled as she tried to see if Brooke was still alive.

Jake ran into Brooke's room to find Peyton freaking out. "Peyton, what's wrong?" He asked.

"It's Brooke, just call 911 now." She screamed.

"What do I tell them?" He asked, clueless to what was going on.

"That Brooke tried to kill herself." Peyton cried.

Jake couldn't believe his ears, but he ran to go call 911, and then returned to Brooke's room. He ran into her bathroom and found the pill bottles on her bathroom counter. Tears of confusion and hurt ran down his face. "Oh my God." He screamed and ran back into Brooke's room.

Peyton was checking Brooke out. She felt a faint pulse and a very slow heartbeat. "She still breathing a little Jake, but she's unconscious." He nodded, and ran downstairs as he heard the paramedics ring the doorbell. They ran upstairs and carried Brooke out of the house and put her in the back of the ambulance. They allowed Jake and Peyton to accompany her to the hospital. Jake called his parents and tried to explain to them what happened and told them to meet him at the hospital.

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Jake and Peyton ran into the hospital after the paramedics took Brooke into the Emergency Room. The receptionist told them to wait in the waiting room and that the doctor would be with them as soon as they knew what was going on.

Jake heard his name being called from behind them, "Jake!" He turned around and saw Karen. He waved and she came over. "What are you two doing over here? You know that you can go straight upstairs if you want to see Lucas."

Peyton sniffled, trying to hold back tears and Jake squeezed her hand. "Uhh… Actually we're here for Brooke." He said as he tried to hold back the tears that had gathered in his eyes.

"Oh," Karen started, very confused about whatever was going on, "Well, where is she? I haven't seen her in a while."

"Actually," Jake began, as tears started to flow down his face, "She's in the ER. Karen, Brooke, she, she… tried to kill herself." He whispered the last part.

Karen's face contorted in pain because of the words that had just come out of Jake's mouth. "Oh my God." She cried as she sat down next to Peyton. "How, Why, When?" Karen asked all at once.

"She overdosed on all kinds of pills. I found the bottles on her counter this morning. I don't really know why, but I suspect that it has something to do with Lucas, and we just found her about half an hour ago."

Karen tried to regain her composure and be the adult. "Did you call you parents?"

Jake nodded, "They're on their way."

The three of them sat there all looking lifeless. After about half an hour a young doctor walked over to them. "Are you three here for Brooke Davis?" They all nodded. "Are you immediate family?"

Jake nodded, "I'm her brother." The doctor nodded and signaled for Jake to follow him.

"I'm sorry, but…."

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_Sorry to leave yall hanging, but I had to. I hope that you guys liked this chapter. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! THANKS SO MUCH! _

_xoxoxo_


	8. Author's Note

I'm going to be very busy in the coming weeks, so please don't be mad if I'm not writing a lot. I definitely plan on continuing this story. Also, I am in mourning over the Chad and Sophia's divorce. I hope that they can reconcile, if not, I hope that it does not affect the show in negative ways.


	9. The Uncertainties of Life

**The Way We Were**

**AN-** I'm starting to get over Chad and Sophia's divorce, so I am writing again, with the aid of one of my besties, Caroline. Flashbacks in italics….

**Disclaimer-** I don't own anything…

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"_Are you three here for Brooke Davis?" They all nodded. "Are you immediate family?"_

_Jake nodded, "I'm her brother." The doctor signaled for Jake to follow him._

"_I'm sorry, but, she's gone." _

_Jake broke down right there, and Peyton rushed over to him, with Karen following close behind. They all fell on the ground, into a heap of sobs, with Jake and Peyton holding onto each other and Karen trying to comfort both of them, as she too, mourned the loss of the girl that was like a daughter to her for so many years. _

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_After many hours of mourning and the arrival of Brooke's parents, Jake and Karen decided that it was best to go tell Lucas what had happened. _

_They both cautiously walked into the Lucas' room, receiving a mere nod as they sat down. Jake interrupted him, by turning off the TV, which made Lucas direct his attention to his mother and best friend. _

_Jake sighed, and started to talk, with tears welling up in his eyes. "Lucas, something happened today…" _

_Lucas turned to look at Jake and saw that he was about to fall apart in front of his eyes. "What is it?" Lucas asked, a little worried about his best friend's emotional state. _

_Tears were streaming down Jake's face as he started to speak again. "It… It's… Luke… It's Brooke." Jake finally got out. _

_Lucas' face contorted in pain, confusion, and worry. He felt a lump form in his throat. "What… What is it?" _

"_She's gone." Jake got it out of his mouth as sobs raked through his body. Lucas felt tears streaming down his face at the same moment. His mother sat on the side of his bed and leaned down to comfort him. For the first time in a few days, he let her comfort him. Lucas felt for Jake's hand squeezed it comfortingly and let Jake hug him. Lucas had loved Brooke with all his heart, and now she was gone. His remembered the one of the last things that he said to her," I hope you die, because I never want to see you again." He hadn't meant it, but he was so hurt that it just came out. _

"_I never told her that I still loved her…" Lucas said as his tears subsided. _

_His mother looked at him with sympathy in her eyes. "Lucas, you know that she knew that." _

_He shook his head in protest. "No, no she didn't. This is my fault isn't it? DAMNIT! I was so fucking angry at her, and I yelled at her and told her that I hated her… and… that I wanted her to die." He whispered the last part in shame. He broke down in tears once more. "But I didn't mean it… I didn't mean it. I loved her. She can't leave me! I NEED HER!" He screamed and cried at the same time. _

"_Lucas, this isn't your fault. She was angry and sad. That's why she did it." Karen finally spoke. _

"_Finally did what?" Lucas asked. _

"_She… She killed herself." Jake answered. _

_Lucas gasped. "No… no… Brooke wouldn't do that." He cried. "How?" He asked. _

"_She overdosed on pills." Karen answered this time. _

"_Because of me?" Lucas asked quietly. When he got no answer, he became agitated, "Just answer me, damnit, did she do it because of me?" _

_Jake nodded, yes. "She was upset, Lucas, and now… she's gone. She's really gone…" _

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Jake awoke from his horrific dream, and looked over at his baby sister, to see her still asleep. The doctor had told him that they had tried their hardest to get all of the pills out of her system, but there were too many, they only got about a half to three fourths of the pills. The remaining pills were still in Brooke's body and caused her to go into a coma. They still hadn't told Lucas, although it had been more than twelve hours since they brought Brooke in. Karen said that they should wait until the following day. She had tried to give Jake a break, but he had not left Brooke's side since he had been allowed back into her room, so that if she did wake up, she wouldn't be alone.

Just then, Peyton walked into the room, carrying two cups of coffee. She offered Jake a smile and he weakly returned it. She handed him the cup of coffee and put her arm around him as she sat on the arm of his chair. "Karen was just in with Luke, and she thinks that it's time to tell him. I can stay with her." Jake nodded in response. As he got up out of his chair, he looked at Peyton and took her face in his hands and gave her a small peck on the lips, and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Peyton replied.

Jake left Peyton to stay with Brooke and walked to the hall to the elevator to get to Lucas' room. When he got there, he saw Karen sitting by Lucas' side. She was laughing with him. It saddened Jake to see Lucas laugh for the first time, knowing that what he had to say next would upset him so much. When Lucas saw Jake in the doorway he waved him inside the room.

"Hey Man." Lucas said as Jake sat down on the side of his bed.

"Hey." Jake said in a hushed tone. It was visible to Lucas, who had been Jake's best friend since they were three years old, that something was wrong.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked.

Karen jumped in, knowing that Jake would not be able to explain. "Something happened Lucas."

"What? What is it Mom, you guys are scaring me."

"Brooke..." was the only word that came out of Jake's mouth before he broke down crying.

Lucas' heart started to race. His bright blue eyes turned cold as he heard her name. He was genuinely worried about the girl that he had loved for so many years. "What… what happened to Brooke?" He asked as his voice cracked when he said her name.

"Lucas, honey, last night, Brooke tried to kill herself." Karen said, trying to put it as lightly as possible.

Lucas' mouth went dry. Tears sprung to his eyes. He shook his head, in denial about what his mother had just said. "No… I talked to her yesterday. She was fine, a little upset, but not about to kill herself."

"Do you know why she would have tried to do that?" Karen asked.

"I don't know." Lucas said quickly. He then remembered all of the terrible things that he had said to Brooke, and that he had told her that he wanted her to die. "Oh my God…" Lucas whispered to himself as he remembered.

"What?" Jake asked, wanting to get to the bottom of the situation.

Tears were flowing down Lucas' cheeks, and he tried to catch his breath. Once he did, he finally said, "This is all my fault."

"Lucas, honey, I'm sure…" Karen tried to say before Jake gruffly interrupted her.

"What do you mean it's your fault?" Jake asked.

"I… I was upset with Brooke, and she called me. I said some stuff that I shouldn't have…"

"What kind of stuff?" Jake asked tentatively.

"I…. I said that I didn't love her anymore and that I never wanted to see her again." Lucas finally said, changing his words a little to seem less hurtful.

Jake's mouth went dry as he stared Lucas down. It really was his fault. Lucas could seem the different array of emotions flash through Jake's brown eyes, and knew that their relationship would never be the same.

Finally, Lucas whispered, "But, I didn't mean it. I love her so much. I'm sorry, Jake; I'm so god damn sorry." Tears started to fall down his face as he silently pleaded with Jake to forgive him.

Jake just nodded, got up and left the room, leaving a very confused Lucas, wondering what was left of their friendship.

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Jake slowly walked back to Brooke's room in a daze. He couldn't believe that Lucas could hurt Brooke that much for her to try to kill herself. He didn't know if he would ever be able to forgive Lucas, but he knew that Luke was still in love with Brooke.

When he got back to Brooke's room, he saw Peyton right where he had left her. She turned around to look at him, as she felt his presence when he entered the room. She saw that he was about to break down and ran to him. He melted into her touch as she wrapped her arms around her. They walked back into Brooke's room and sat in the chair by her bed, with Peyton perched on Jake's lap. Their hands were entwined and Jake told Peyton about all that happened while he was in Lucas' room. As he finally finished his story, tears were falling down his face, and he could barely speak. Peyton turned around in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering sweet nothings into his ear. He laid his on her shoulder and they stayed like that until a noise behind them got their attention.

They both turned around to see Brooke sitting up looking around her room confused. They rushed to her side and Jake poured her a cup of water, putting it up to her lips to drink. Slowly, the liquid ran down her throat, making it easier for her to speak. She looked at both of them and asked, "What happened?" Jake and Peyton wrapped their arms around her and Jake replied, "It doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that you're awake."

Brooke shook her head and hugged both of them back. She lay back in her bed, as Peyton went to go get Brooke's parents and Karen. Jake sat beside Brooke and tried to explain what had happened the night before, but failed miserably as tears fell down his face. He tried to wipe them away, but more continued to fall. The last thing that Brooke remembered was her phone conversation with Lucas, and it was breaking her heart. Jake assured her that Lucas was still in love with her and he was beating himself up over what had happened. She was very confused about her feelings toward him, knowing how much his words could hurt her, but also knowing that he was beating himself up over her attempted suicide, and knowing most importantly, that he still loved her.

"Jake, will you do me a favor?" Brooke asked, once both of them had calmed down.

"Yeah, anything." He said, happy that she was speaking.

"Will you get the doctors to let me see him?"

Shock was evident on Jake's face, and Brooke could see that. "Brooke, I don't know if that's such a great idea."

"Jake, please, I need to see him. We need to talk about that the shit that happened between us. Please, do this for me. I know that you are pissed about what happened, but it's not his fault, it's mine. So if you need someone to be mad at, then be mad at me, don't blame him for my mistake."

Jake's mouth went dry, and he simply nodded in response and walked out of Brooke's room. She was left alone to wonder what she was thinking and how broken she must have been to try to kill herself. She needed to see Lucas, and let him know that none of this was his fault, and that was still in love with him, but she wasn't sure where their relationship would lead them.

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Jake walked back into Brooke's room after talking to the doctor's and his parents. He sat down on Brooke's bed next to her and shook her slightly to wake her up. She immediately woke when she saw that it was Jake.

"What did they say?" She asked quickly.

"They said that they would have to talk to Lucas before anything happened, but after what he said today, I think that he will be up for it. But, it will be you that will have to go there, since you are much more mobile than he is. The doctors are talking to him right now, so we should know pretty soon. Just, be careful, Brooke. Don't expect too much from him right now, I don't want you to get hurt again or worse…" Jake said, worried that he might lose his baby sister and one of his best friends again, and this time, possibly for good.

Brooke sat up and surprised Jake, by hugging him tight. He returned the hug, and heard her whisper, "I'll be fine, Jakie, but I love you for caring." He nodded, in response, and left to go see if the doctors had talked to Lucas.

He came back in about 10 minutes later, to a very excited Brooke, who was obviously trying her hardest to be patient and calm.

"Hey, so the doctors said that you could go to his room, for about 20 minutes. They are gonna come in here and help get you into a wheelchair. Someone will have to stay in there with you two, and if he says anything to piss you off, then you're getting out of there, got it?"

She nodded, understanding why Jake was being so over-protective, knowing that everyone was going to a lot more overprotective because of her recent actions. No one was going to trust her anymore, and she was going to have to deal with the consequences of her actions.

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About an hour later, Brooke was in her wheelchair, on her way to go see Lucas, with Jake, Peyton, and a nurse with her. They stopped in front of his door, so that Jake would open it, helping Brooke's entrance into the room. Lucas turned around immediately as he heard the door open. The nurse wheeled Brooke over to the side of Lucas' bed; she kept her head down looking at her hands. It was decided that Peyton would stay in the room with them, since she would not intrude on the conversation and also because Brooke would have told her everything that went on anyway. Jake kissed Brooke's forehead and sent Lucas a warning glance before leaving the room with the nurse.

Neither Brooke, nor Lucas knew how to react, and neither wanted to make the first move. Brooke finally looked up from her hands and they looked at each other, both noticing the unshed tears in the other's eyes.

Lucas made the first move by reaching his hand out to Brooke, palm up, she reached back for it. Lucas smiled, and she returned the gesture. Both let the tears come down freely.

"I'm so sorry, Brooke. You have to believe me, I didn't mean any of the terrible things that I said, and I never thought that…" Brooke squeezed his hand, signaling for him to stop and nodded her head, accepting his apology. For the remaining time, both sat there looking at each other, silently letting all the bad things go. When it was time for Brooke to leave, she leaned over and gave Lucas a peck on the cheek, for a moment, he stroked her face and gave her a charming smile, which took her back to a time, when that smile alone made her weak at the knees. She smiled back at him and spoke for the first time, "I'll see you later, Broody."

"Definitely, Cheery." He tapped her nose playfully before she left.

After their meeting, neither Brooke, nor Lucas knew what exactly their futures held for them, but both of them knew that in some way or another, they would be in each other's lives, whether if it was as friends or as a couple, and that was settling news for both of them.

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_Wow, that took like 3 weeks to write, so I really hope that everyone liked it. I'm sorry that I am so bad about updating, but I have almost zero free time on my hands. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW and I will (hopefully) start updating sooner! Thanks Kids! xoxoxoxo_


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